Afghan female footballers get UK visas: BBC News Review

Young female footballers from Afghanistan

have been given the right to live in the UK

after leaving the Taliban-controlled country.

I'm Neil and this is News Review from BBC Learning English.

Joining me is Roy. Hello Roy.

Hello Neil and hello everybody.

If you would like to test yourself on the vocabulary around this story,

all you need to do is head to our website

bbclearningenglish.com to take a quiz.

But now, let's hear more about this story from this BBC News report:

Yes. So, a group of young female Afghan footballers

and their families have been given visas to come and live in the UK.

These footballers had left Afghanistan to get away from the Taliban

and have been living in Pakistan.

OK. Well, you have been scanning the world's media

for this story and you have picked out

some really useful words and expressions. What have you got?

We have: 'resettled', 'granted' and 'flee'.

'Resettled', 'granted' and 'flee'.

So, let's have a look at your first headline please, Roy.

So, our first headline comes from the UK,

from the Evening Standard, and it reads:

'Resettled' – forced or helped to move to a different place to live.

Yes. So, this word is spelt R-E-S-E-T-T-L-E-D

and it means that somebody has been moved by force,

or from help, from one place to another to live.

Now, let's first of all look at that word.

Right in the middle of that word is the word 'settle',

which means to move somewhere to live.

So, for example, my parents – when I was a lot younger –

they moved to the Isle of Wight in the south of the UK to live.

So, they settled on the Isle of Wight

and it's about a choice – you choosing to do something –

and it being a permanent arrangement.

Now, in the word 'resettled', we have that prefix 're-', which means 'again'.

So, for example, Neil, if you do something once

and then you do it again, what do you do?

You 'redo' it.

'Redo' it: so, you're doing it for a second time – again.

And the idea of 'resettled' is moving where...

you are settled in one place – you're living in one place –

and then you move to another place: you 'resettle'.

Now, it's important to remember this is often that you're helped

or you're forced to do that move.

That's right. So, for example, if you live – I mean, we looked

at a story from the Canary Islands with the volcano a few weeks ago.

If a volcano explodes – erupts – near you and the lava is flowing

towards your house and destroys it or there are floods, for example,

you may have to be 'resettled' – that's move to a new place.

And in that situation there is something forcing you – a natural disaster –

but the authorities are there to help you 'resettle'.

In other situations – we can think of, for example,

with many indigenous populations around the world –

governments force them to move onto new settlements

and that was done by force.

So, it was not with the best intentions.

No, no. Absolutely not.

And you used an interesting word there.

You used the word 'settlement', which is the place where people 'settle'

and the people that do the 'settling' are called 'settlers'.

That's right, yeah. So, that word 'settle' in the middle there

is the key to all of this.

Absolutely.

OK. Let's get a summary:

So, we mentioned natural disasters and people having to move.

We covered a story, a while ago, about a flood in Australia,

in which crocodiles were seen swimming up and down the streets of a town.

Where can our viewers find it?

All you need to do is click the link in the description and I can tell you,

if there were crocodiles swimming down my streets,

I would want to be 'resettled' immediately.

I'm sure you would! OK.

Let's have a look at your next headline.

OK. So, our next headline comes from the National and it reads:

'Granted' – given something officially.

Yes. So, this word is spelt G-R-A-N-T-E-D

and it means to be given the permission

or the right to do something.

So, for example, in this case these people have been given visas:

they have been 'granted' visas.

Another good example is you can 'grant' somebody access to a building:

you can give that person the permission to enter the building.

Or, for example, on computers

if you can't access my file, I can 'grant' you the access:

it's about giving the permission.

OK. Roy – so, you said it's like 'give':

so, why don't we just use 'give'?

What's the difference between 'grant' and 'give'?

Well, yeah, I mean, informally you could say they've been 'given' visas,

but 'grant' is a bit more official.

It's a bit more about giving permission to do something.

It's an official thing. And it's also...

has this sort of idea of it being about a favour

or helping someone to do something.

That's right, yeah.

We see this word, 'grant', also as a noun, don't we?

And it's... it refers often to financial help.

Yeah. Again, that important word there is 'help'

and it's facilitating something to happen.

So, a good example of this is maybe if somebody needs help

or they don't have access to finances to go to university,

they receive a 'grant';

or maybe a charity or a person receives a 'grant' to do something.

It's about being helped

and that idea again of a favour or permission to do something.

Yeah. And there's another expression, quite common, isn't there?

To 'take something for granted'.

Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

We hear this a lot, especially parents talking about their children:

'Oh, he or she takes me for granted!'

Now, this idea is believing that something is true or it's available,

without really questioning or asking something.

Now, a great example of this:

just recently, something's happening in the UK, isn't it, Neil?

That's right, yes. People may have heard

that we've had problems getting petrol in the UK

and so there are queues at petrol stations,

or the petrol stations are just empty and it's...

it's a, kind of, shocking surprise for people here

because we 'take it for granted' that there will be petrol

when you go to a petrol station.

Yeah. And I can think of another example: in the UK,

at the start of the Covid pandemic,

I went to the supermarket and the shelves were just...

there was nothing in the supermarket and toilet paper wasn't there.

Now, I 'take for granted' that my supermarket will have toilet paper

and I think a lot of people 'took that for granted'

and when the toilet paper wasn't there any more,

it was a big... a big shock.

That's right. Yes, there are many things that we 'take for granted'

that perhaps we shouldn't.

OK. Let's get a summary:

One of the things that we 'take for granted'

is that we will be here forever on this Earth,

but anyone who takes...

takes a step back and looks at us floating in space will realise

that actually we're a fragile little place,

and space is a theme that we have been looking at in detail

at BBC Learning English recently, haven't we, Roy?

Yes, we have indeed.

Now, this episode is all about who owns space.

Now, I was... I was... I learnt a lot from this episode.

I found it really interesting

and all you need to do to watch it is click the link in the description.

OK. Let's have a look at our next headline.

OK. So, our next headline comes from the Sun and it reads:

'Flee' – to leave a place of danger.

Right. So, this word is spelt F-L-E-E

and it's about escaping a dangerous situation

or something that you're very scared of.

So, we use it – and it's got this idea of being in panic or chaos.

You're running away very, very quickly.

We often 'flee' dangerous situations.

Now, earlier on, you spoke about that volcano going off

on the...in the Canary Islands.

A lot of people will have...

they will have to have 'fled' from that situation.

They will have run away – escaped that situation.

Yeah, interesting past tense there, you used, Roy: 'fled'.

It's not 'flee-ed'; it's 'fled'.

Yes. So, it's: 'flee', 'fled', 'fled'. F-L-E-D – 'fled'.

Now, obviously, this is for very extreme situations that we use this literally –

you know, with volcanoes or very dangerous situations – but we do...

we do sometimes use it in an exaggerated sense, don't we?

We like to exaggerate with the word 'flee'.

Yeah. So, perhaps you... you're at a party

and someone arrives, who you just don't want to see –

ex-girlfriend, ex-boyfriend or

someone you've had an argument with or something – and you might 'flee'.

It means escape that situation because it's uncomfortable for you.

Yeah. And there's a...

there's another word which sounds the same,

but has a completely different meaning, isn't there?

Yes, there is.

Now, in the spirit of the homophones that we like to talk about,

there is another word spelt F-L-E-A

and this is a small creature that jumps.

It does huge jumps and it usually bites animals or people.

It was believed to be responsible for spreading the plague:

it was biting people and spreading the plague, back in the day.

I'm really scared of these creatures;

they're making me feel itchy right now.

I'm kind of itchy, just thinking about 'fleas':

I... I would like to 'flee' this situation.

Go for it!

OK. Let's get a summary:

Time now for a recap of the vocabulary please, Roy.

Yes. We had 'resettled' – forced or helped to move to a different place to live.

We had 'granted' – given something officially.

And we had 'flee' – leave a place of danger.

If you would like to test yourself

on the vocabulary you've heard in this programme,

go to our website bbclearningenglish.com.

You'll find a quiz and all kinds of other activities.

Thanks for joining us and goodbye.

Bye.